Status: Technically a one shot, but I keep writing more parts for it

Here I Am, There You Are

Here I Am, There You Are

They say your wedding day is one of the most beautiful and amazing days of your life. The months of planning and stressing out are all worth it. All your fantasies finally come true. Your wedding dress will fit better and look even more astonishing then you would have expected when you walk down that aisle. You wouldn’t be able to take your eyes off your partner, anxious yet excited to finally say the words ‘I do’. In the end, no matter how afraid, nervous, or jittery you are, it will all melt away as soon as you get your first kiss as a married couple.

The venue looked as great as it could ever have. What looked like just an empty dark hardwood hall had been decorated so beautifully. Edison bulbs littered the ceiling, giving off the warm light needed to accentuate the rustic theme as a band played live music. It really was a paradise. Every single round table had a carefully crafted centerpiece made out of the same white, light pink and purple roses the wedding bouquet had, some towering over the guests and others a little smaller. And don’t get me started on the wedding cake that brought back both the rustic theme due to the thin frosting and the same flowers, only edible. Honestly, it was perfect.

Just one thing. This wasn’t my wedding.

No, I wasn’t the one sitting in a white dress at the front of the room, watching over the entire party, happy as can be. I was stuck at one of the round tables with my flesh-colored dress making me blend in with the others. Granted, I was very close to the front, just not with the bridesmaids and groomsmen. In some way, I was quite important, I had known the bride and the groom for years. Hell, I was the one that introduced them. But here I was, sitting by myself at a table while I should have been enjoying the party like everybody else.

Don’t get me wrong, I was so happy that my friends had gotten married, this was all I had ever wished for them since high school. It just hit me. I was a little older than the both of them--just by a month, but it still counted--yet I was nowhere near to getting married. I wasn’t even close to getting into a serious relationship! All I wanted was to have somebody to share my life with.

Sitting around instead of meeting people sure didn’t help me. I just didn’t have the energy to get up and meet people just to act interested in them. Either way, everybody here was too drunk, even the parents. My conquest for a relationship wasn’t going to start here.

I was stirring around the unnecessary stick in my drink, looking out at everybody on the dance floor, when a person threw themselves in the wooden chair beside me. A mixture of cologne, deodorant, and booze filled my nose, allowing me to guess who it was before I even got to take a look at them.

“Come on, Rachel.” Jack nudged my arm, disrupting the perfect circles I was creating in my drink. “You can’t just sit around here. Come join us on the dance floor.”

I scrunched up my nose both at the smell and the thought of joining more sweaty bodies. “I’m fine. I believe I may have already had too much to drink, so I decided to sit down before I got too dizzy to walk.

“Buttshit,” he laughed, slouching in the seat as a waiter came up and handed him some concoction in a glass. “That’s your first drink. You haven’t gotten a new drink since we all ordered at dinner!”

I gave him a confused look, wondering how he could even know that I hadn’t ordered anything else since. He didn’t sit at my table, he was included in that whole ‘bridesmaids and groomsmen’ party. Of course, after dinner, everybody moved wherever they wanted, but he didn’t come over then either.

He pointed at said ‘first rank’ table and at the seat on the other side. “I was sat there and had a very clear view of what you were doing. I even saw you pick that fallen piece of bread from between your boobs when you thought nobody was looking! I must say, very well done.”

“Well,” I furrowed an eyebrow at him, challenging him despite knowing he was completely and utterly correct, and ignored his embarrassing remark, “you don’t know what happened ever since you jumped up from your seat and started going bezerk on the dance floor.”

He looked straight back at me before snatching my drink out of my hands and taking a sip. “That’s fucking old, it’s been watered down as fuck. You could have gotten away with it if you hadn’t gotten ice in it that’s all melted now.”

“I just like my liquor watered down.” I stuck my tongue out at him and rescued the drink that had been with me the entire night.

“Hmm…” he nodded, looking towards the dance floor as there was some loud shouting. His eyes showed that he wanted to know what was going on and wanted to be part of it, yet he turned his head away and continued to sit with me. “So, now, what’s the real reason you’re sitting here all by yourself.”

“I dunno,” I shrugged, letting go of my glass and leaning back in my chair.

Jack took a sip of his own drink and shook his head at me. “You know but don’t want to tell me. I can’t accept that.”

“Okay…” I sighed and crossed my arms. I was only doing it for Jack’s sake so he could go back on that dance floor and party like his heart desired. “You know, it’s pretty pathetic. We got an invitation to this wedding like, what, two months ago? I got a plus one, and in that time I couldn’t even convince a stranger to come with me.”

“That’s it?” he nearly snorted, but held himself back when he saw how much it affected me. Still, it didn’t stop him from making a stupid joke. “Couldn’t you convince them by saying you’d have sex with them?”

I rolled my head in his direction, glaring at him. “Really? Fuck you. I’ve never had a one night stand, yet guys constantly think that I’m the type of girl who only wants to sleep around. Do I really look like that girl?”

“No,” Jack scoffed, putting his glass down on the table quite loudly, but it was drowned out by the music.

I interrupted before he could tell me all the reasons why. “Forget everything you know about me. If you were to see me for the first time and I was a complete stranger, what would you think?”

He suddenly froze and looked me up and down, picking up his drink and swirling it around as he thought for a second. “Okay, yeah. You’re hot. Nice guys think you’re out of their league. The only guys who would dare to approach you are the ones who are full of themselves and only look for one night stands.”

“You see,” I huffed, shoving away my drink that had to have been room temperature by now. “I know I shouldn’t be complaining, but I’m a lost cause.”

“No, you’re not.” He shook his head, insisting that I was making up things. “I’ll let you in on a secret. I had a humongous crush on you back in high school.”

It didn’t do anything for me. I knew. I knew about all the guys in high school. The ones that were way older than me, the ones that were way younger than me. It was pretty obvious when they’d all take ‘subtle’ glances at my breasts. “Yeah. I had huge boobs and hips compared to all the other girls in freshman year. I’m pretty sure even teachers sexualized me.”

Jack breathed out and took hold of my hands on top of the table, glancing around the room. “We’re going to find you somebody tonight… how about Zack? Zack’s nice.”

“Zack?” I laughed, patting the top of Jack’s hands with one I managed to squirm out of his grip. “He’s the worst out of you all.”

But Jack didn’t listen. As soon as the very muscular man with broad shoulders walked past, he called out, “hey, Zack!”

Zack stopped in his tracks and came up to us instead. He greeted me briefly and gave me a small wave, awaiting Jack to tell him why he was needed here. I was just filled with embarrassment, wondering if I could slip away without anybody noticing. They were both two of my best friends, but this really was going too far.

“Can you keep Rachel company while I run to the bathroom?” Jack asked him, trying to be very subtle about everything.

“Sure,” Zack shrugged without hesitation and took Jack’s place.

Jack picked up his own drink before walking away. Before disappearing, however, he turned back and gave me a couple of winks. The problem, though, was that Jack couldn’t wink even if his life depended on it. He had to cock his head and raise his upper lip as his mouth was open to close his eyes remotely. He was being the opposite of subtle.

“What’s that about?” Zack wondered, giving Jack a confused look and giving it to me as well as soon as Jack walked through the large doors of the hall.

I exhaled loudly, leaning forward with my hands interlocked on top of the table. “He’s trying to set me up with someone.”

Zack opened his mouth and closed it again right after, pointed at himself in question. He looked taken aback and a little panicked.

“You’re a nice guy and all,” I told him, knowing I had to make this clear early on, “but that’s never going to happen.”

He breathed out in relief, putting a hand to his heart. “I feel the same way, thank god.”

“He’s not really as great of a matchmaker as he likes to think,” I laughed, going to touch my glass yet again, only to decide against it. It was like my lifeline or something. Whenever I was unsure, I’d either pick it up or put it down. I could only imagine how weird it started looking.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Zack interjected with a frown, “why is he trying to set you up with somebody?”

“It’s complicated,” I twitched my lips and raised my shoulders up. It wasn’t exactly very complicated, but I didn’t really feel like explaining it all in a way that sounded like I wasn’t trying to be a buzzkill again. I managed to do it for Jack, not straight up saying ‘I’m jealous and also want to get married’, but having to do it for Zack as well was too tiring.

“Wait…” he stopped me despite the fact that I had nothing left to say. “Do you have feelings for Alex or something? I promise not to tell Alex and Lisa, especially not on their wedding day.”

“No, no, no!” I shook my head, rejecting the idea immediately. That was way too far-fetched. “Alex and I dated for a week back in high school, we both said it didn’t feel right and went back to be really good friends. It wasn’t even proper dating. Remember I hooked him up with Lisa? I knew both of them had huge crushes on each other but were too afraid to pursue it.”

“Okay, okay,” Zack chuckled and gestured with his hands that I had to calm down. “How about I get you a new drink. That one looks like it’s lost its life.”

I looked down at the glass that had somehow made its way back into my hands, making me quickly let go of it again. I was too attached to that thing. “No, I’m fine. Drinking usually gives me a headache, even if it’s only one glass.”

“I’ll get you a water then.” He gave me a half smile before leaving me all alone at the table again.

As I sat there, just as lonely as before, still trapped in that dress that was feeling way too constricted. I accepted my fate as I stared at all the people happily jumping and dancing around with Alex and Lisa. Somewhere in the crowd, I managed to spot Jack screaming along with everybody else. Even he wasn’t as miserable as I was. I just wished I could take his optimism and apply it to my life.

Zack did eventually come back with a beer for himself and a glass of water for me. We talked for another while longer, but Jack’s idea of getting us together didn’t work out. Zack and I were great friends, but that was all. We never had feelings for each other, and that was how things were going to stay. I loved him, but only as a friend I had had since high school.

I really appreciated Jack’s minimal effort, but it didn’t make the wedding any more bearable for me. The entire evening, I was left watching the happy couple and their friends. I stayed sober, sipping on glasses of ice water while the rest of the party threw back glasses of alcohol like it wouldn’t do anything to them. Thinking about their regrets the next morning only brought a smile to my face. I wasn’t spending my night do much else that I’d usually do.

I didn’t even notice how much time had gone past until Jack was stood behind me, one had on the back of my chair and the other on my shoulder to catch my attention.

“Come on,” he beckoned, his eyes on the large doors he had gone through when he had ‘gone to the bathroom’ to leave me and Zack alone, “Alex and Lisa are leaving. We’ve gotta wave goodbye.”

“Oh, okay.” I stood up, quickly throwing the last of my water down my throat. Somehow I managed to make it through the entire night.

Jack took hold of my hand as we started pushing through the crowd. We definitely got a few annoyed glances from other guests who wanted to see the newlyweds off just as much as us. Correction, I got many glares. Somehow they recognized Jack as one of the groomsmen that had been around Alex most of the night, so they happily let him past. Me, however, not so much. Nobody had probably even seen me. I was just more than glad Jack had a death grip on my hand so that I wasn’t left behind in the angry crowd.

Alex and Lisa were just opening the car door as we got to the front. They waved at everybody and shared one last public kiss before getting in. I smiled brightly and waved ecstatically as the car drove away, Jack hollering loudly beside me. Everybody was still going wild, partially due to group mentality, and partially because they were all drunk.

But as soon as that car turned the corner, the noise died down and everybody started to leave. My smile dropped just as quickly as my hand did. I really was happy for them, just not happy for myself.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Jack whispered in my ear while we still stood on the steps. “That smile was very realistic.”

“Oh, shut up,” I rolled my eyes and hit his chest lightly, glancing at all the people that were leaving in groups, either calling a taxi service or ordering an Uber. “I really am happy for them.”

Jack just nodded, slightly disbelief in his eyes. “Wanna get a ride back together to the hotel? Split the fare?”

“Yeah, that’ll work,” I agreed, as Jack pulled out his phone.

I wanted to reach for mine as well and beat him to it. But then I noticed I didn’t have my phone with me. Nor did I have my wallet. Jack had pulled me away so hastily that I had left everything at the table. For some reason, my mind had gone to finish my water before thinking of picking up my valuables.

“Shit, I lost my purse,” I groaned, bringing my hands up to rub my temples. I really wasn’t making this easier for myself. It was like everything was set up to make me feel horrible.

“Well, where did you see it last?” Jack asked, a hint of worry in his tone as he turned off his phone and stuffed it back in his pocket.

“I should have left it at the table, I haven’t really been anywhere else,” I told him, taking hold of his arm and dragging him back inside with me.

As we entered the hall, everything looked very different. With barely any people in it to make noise, it looked so calm and serene. It was more my speed. There were still a handful of people saying their goodbyes to acquaintances that they weren’t going to see again until another wedding, other collecting their belongings.

I went straight to the table I had called my home for the last couple of hours, Jack still in tow. Everything in me hoped that my clutch was just going to be laying there on the table waiting for me to come and fetch it. But things weren’t going that well for me. Literally, the gold plated necklace somebody had left on the other side of the table was still there, but my belongings had disappeared.

“So, where is it?” Jack dumbly asked, searching the table with his eyes.

I gave him an unemotional look back, keeping back all the things I wanted to say to him. But I needed him on my good side. “Well, it seems like it has decided to go to Wonderland and left me behind.”

He chuckled at my joke before repeating, “but, seriously, where is it?”

“Do you think I’d just be standing here if I knew?” I grumbled in annoyance. I needed that purse. My phone had my plane ticket back to LA and the details for my check in at the hotel. And, well, my wallet had all my money in it, that was quite straightforward. So, I hopefully prayed, “maybe it fell underneath the table?”

“Maybe,” Jack nodded before dropping down to his knees so I wouldn’t have to.

He pushed up the tablecloth and crawled underneath the table to check if he could find it. I was standing there anxiously, doing everything to stop me from biting my nails that I had let done especially for this occasion. It all seemed so ironic.

“Is this is?” Jack appeared from under the table, nearly hitting his head, and holding up a white clutch.

I nodded excitedly and took it from him, immediately checking the contents as he stood back up. I saw him sway a little while trying to regain his balance from the corner of my eye. Knowing he probably didn’t want me to comment on it, I grinned at him when I saw that everything was still inside and that I didn’t need to worry anymore.

“Thank you,” I mumbled and hugged him tightly. If I had had to climb underneath that table, it would have been the cherry on top of everything. It would have officially ruined my day. He just managed to make it a little better.

“No problem,” he whispered back as I let go of him and closed my purse again. “So, you ready to go? The Uber will be here soon.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” I nodded and walked beside him as we started to leave the hall.

Although I didn’t want to bother Jack any further, I couldn’t help but reach out my hand in front of him to stop him as we were in the hallway. He walked right into my hand, but stopped after, giving me a confused look.

“Okay,” I breathed out, realizing how dramatic I was making this seem. “I’ve got to pee.”

“You literally had one drink!” Jack laughed and tried to walk further.

I, however, kept him in place. “Yeah, one alcoholic drink, seven waters.”

“Can’t you wait until we get to the hotel?” he questioned while checking his phone to see if the Uber driver was here already.

I knew that being late would make us seem like assholes and make his rating drop so much, but it was urgent. I couldn’t help but whine, “no, I might actually die if I do that.”

“Fine, but run.”

I pinned my clutch to his chest for him to hold. When he finally took it from me, I shuffled as quickly as I could in my heels and with the slight pain in my lower stomach. I did make it to the bathroom and tried to be as fast as possible. However, wearing a long dress wasn’t exactly working in my favor. I managed to go with no trouble, however getting my panties back up was too much of a trouble. I pulled them down completely and balled them up in my fist before I washed my hands and ran out to Jack.

“Okay, give me that,” I peeled my clutch from his hands and opened it, trying to stuff my panties into it.

“Hang on, hang on.” He took the unidentified fabric from my hand before I could protest and unraveled it, putting my red lace thong on full display. A smirked replaced his intrigued look. “Well, what do we have here?”

“You don’t know how fucking difficult it’s to put them back on in a dress,” I seethed, praying nobody around us saw as well. It was already embarrassing enough that he saw me digging out that piece of bread earlier on. “I was just trying to be fast so we won’t miss our ride.”

“You’re weird, you know that, right?” he chuckled softly, stuffing the thong in his pocket since there was no way it would fit in my purse. “Maybe this is why you can’t seem to get yourself a boyfriend.”

“Oh, fuck off,” I snapped. “I don’t act like this around everybody. You’ve just been my friend for so long that I can’t give a fuck anymore. Honestly, you don’t really behave as your ‘best’ self around me either. You’ve literally seen me at my worst, but you’ll never get to see me at my best.”

“I really have, haven’t I?” He scrunched up his nose and scratched the back of his head.

“You know, I thought wearing some nice fancy underwear would make me feel a little better about myself coming here, but it really didn’t. I’ve been so pathetic that I didn’t even get to congratulate Alex and Lisa myself. The fuck am I even doing?” I confessed, feeling like I needed to give an explanation as to why I was wearing that nice thong. It wasn’t like anybody was going to see it, especially not like this. But I just had to ramble on about all my feelings again.

Jack just looked at me, his lips in a straight line and his forehead relaxed. No expression whatsoever. For a second, I felt like he was either looking right through me or like there was something on my face that he was trying to ignore because he didn’t want to make me feel worse. It really made me feel self-conscious.

Then the unexpected happened. Not leaving me much time to think, Jack leaned in, held the back of my head in his hand, and kissed me. My body, having craved a loving touch for so long no matter how small the gesture, went in overdrive. I automatically kissed him back, the smell I had been repulsed by earlier that evening now smelling so sweet to me. The last thing on my mind was if the scratch of his scruff would ruin my makeup. It didn’t even matter anyway, the night was over. All that mattered was that I was kissing Jack and enjoying it.

But I was kissing Jack. It wasn’t a good idea. I had to push him off me with much hesitation.

“Okay, you’re so drunk,” I breathed out with a shake of my head. “How drunk are you even?”

“Very drunk.” He nodded, not beating around the bush, putting both his hands in his front pockets. “Like, honestly, I’m going to have a horrible headache tomorrow. Way over the legal limit.”

“I’ll make sure to have some Advil and sparkling water ready for you tomorrow morning. We should probably get outside if the Uber driver’s going to come soon, though,” I smiled softly, feeling like he had completely forgotten about our kiss already.

Maybe it was just a pity kiss and he didn’t want anything else out of it. It made more than enough sense. All I had been doing this evening was complaining. No wonder he would want me to shut up just by giving me a top up for the time being. I could have just as well kissed any random stranger.

“Mhmm,” he agreed, but pulled on my arm just as I walked away.

He reconnected our lips, only a lot less gentle this time. Although our kiss had already restarted, he still felt the need to tilt my head up by taking my chin between his thumb and forefinger. That wasn’t the desired contact however. What we really needed was his arm hooking onto my waist and pulling me close into his body. My heart was racing but my mind was clear. I was kissing one of my best friends and it felt so right. I had to return the gesture by wrapping my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss.

“Get a room!” Some dude yelled at us as he walked past, leaving the building and causing us to break apart.

“Okay.” Jack shrugged gently and as if on cue, his phone rang, the Uber driver on the other side asking where we were. He told the driver that we’d come out right away and asked for which color car to look out for--especially with so many people trying to leave the party--as he grabbed my hand and pulled me along once again.

I woke up the next morning with somebody else’s arms wrapped around me. Often when I woke up in new strange places, I needed some time to remind myself where the hell I was and what I was doing. This time, I didn’t need anything to remind me what had happened. Everything was as clear as day.

I could still remember Jack acting all civil in the Uber, confusing the hell out of me again. It was like he was playing with my emotions for his own entertainment. But, back in the hotel, things flipped around yet again. We went up to his hotel room, which he had already been in the night before, making sure to bring all my belongings with us this time, and the rest was history.

Shifting a little to get more comfortable, I managed to wake up Jack. At first, he just stirred a little, but then his breathing became louder, and eventually he let out a loud groan. As expected, he was probably experiencing a horrible hangover. That mixed in with being woken up by another person was the worst combination.

“Huh?” Jack grumbled, seemingly needing those extra minutes to remember that he wasn’t in his own bed at home. “Morning.”

“Morning,” I whispered back, turning around to face him. He did indeed look like he needed a couple more minutes to wake up, if not hours. So, I decided to let him take his time without me around to make him dizzy. “I’m going to take a shower, okay?”

He gave me a thumbs up and I got out of bed. Taking my bag with my change of clothes, I slipped into the bathroom, blowing off the fact that I was fully naked.

My reflection was horrifying. Not only was my (classified by agencies as) honey blonde hair, which had been full of product, sticking up weirdly as a reminder of the night before, but my makeup was smudged completely. I quickly closed the bathroom door before Jack could see, making sure to leave it ajar so he could run in if he suddenly felt nauseous.

I worked through my hair with a brush first, knowing it would be a lost cause if I wettened it without detangling it. It was more work than when I actually did it in the first place. Next was trying to get off all that smudged eyeliner and mascara, which I was more prepared for and had makeup wipes for in my bag.

As soon as I knew taking a shower would only help my situation, I moved to the shower and inspected the dials and handles. Once I finally figured it out and turned it on, there was a knock on the door. Not a knock on the door to the bathroom, a knock on the door to the hotel room. I froze in place, wondering who it was, and decided to listen in before I hopped in the inviting water.

Jack groaned once again, but got up anyway. After a bit of fumbling and another knock at the door, he grumbled out an “I’m coming!”

Although I couldn’t see the faces, I could recognize the other voices as well.

“Hey, Jack,” Lisa greeted, concern coating her words. “Have you seen Rachel? I barely got to see her yesterday and apparently she didn’t check in either.”

My eyes went wide. Did I have to make an appearance and announce that I was okay? But I looked horrible and was completely naked. There was no way I could just casually walk out and act like it was all normal. Even if I quickly wrapped a towel around myself or put on some clothes, the conversation would have already moved on.

“No, sorry,” Jack replied, his voice rough and hoarse. “If I see her, I’ll tell her you were looking for her.”

“Okay, thanks,” she sighed, both with relief and even more unease, “I just want to see her before we leave on our honeymoon, which is in like an hour.”

“Is that your shower running?” Alex’s deep chuckle came from the same direction, making me take a few steps away from the bathroom door.

“Yeah,” Jack simply said, the croak of the door telling me he opened it a bit more, but not enough to invite the guests in.

“Woah, what happened in here?” Lisa wondered, sounding shocked.

“Well, let’s see…” Jack clapped his hand together, making him flinch at the sound he had created himself. “The bed sheets are all crumpled up, my suit is spread across the room, there’s a dress on the floor that most definitely isn’t mine, and there’s a condom wrapper on the bedside table. I’m not really sure, actually.”

“Dude,” Alex laughed yet again. “And you don’t even remember?”

“I am so fucking hungover right now,” Jack answered, making my heart drop. His prior statement still made it sound like he was making a sarcastic joke, but this said otherwise.

“Man, well, good luck with that.”

I didn’t listen to the rest of their conversation. Instead, I did what I came here for, and that was to take a shower. All the negativity and bad feelings had to be washed away.

I ignored the fact that Jack was in the room next to me as soon as I got out of the shower and dried myself off. It was difficult to do with him shuffling around, but he didn’t enter the bathroom once. I just changed and dried my hair, praying he would leave the room temporarily so I wouldn’t have to see him anymore. But that was too much to ask for.

I came out of the bathroom holding my suitcase to find Jack sitting on the bed facing me while cradling his head. While I had enjoyed his presence a few minutes before, I sure as hell didn’t anymore. I now knew what he thought about last night, and I didn’t want to deal with that. Despite knowing how drunk and horny he was, I still managed to fall under his spell. And I had literally told him I wasn’t a girl that did one night stands that evening.

“You can go, now,” I muttered, refusing to look at him although I could feel his gaze boring right through me. I could only imagine his surprise to find out he had slept with me.

He nodded and silently got up before going into the bathroom. As soon as the door closed, I threw my suitcase on the bed and opened it as quickly as possible. Since I was wearing the clothes and shoes I had brought along in it, I now had enough space to stuff my dress and heels in. I didn’t even bother to fold it nicely so it wouldn’t end up wrinkling. Even the underwear I couldn’t find from last night didn’t matter. I didn’t need those filthy things anyway.

With the water still running in the bathroom, I sneaked out of the hotel room. I didn’t need to look back. I just had to go downstairs, get breakfast, maybe run into Lisa, and get back home.

Just like that, I had managed to ruin my friendship with one of my best friends; all because I was so damn stupid.

When I exited the elevator in the lobby, I saw Alex at the front desk with all of his large suitcases for his honeymoon. They needed to leave soon, and it was obvious they were all ready and excited to go. I didn’t know exactly where they were going, but I knew it was one of their favorite vacation spots. Lisa, however, was nowhere near,

I walked past, ready to go into the food hall, only to be spotted by Alex.

“Rachel!” he called out and speed walked up to me, leaving all of his bags at the front desk without close supervision. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I smiled back, trying to push away all the things that had happened the day before, “I didn’t get to congratulate you yesterday. So, congratulations!”

“Thanks.” He hugged me quickly, his eyes glancing in the direction of his belongings just to check. “Anyway, Lisa was worried about you. Apparently, you didn’t check in.”

“Yeah…” I exhaled, knowing I couldn’t act like nothing had happened at all. “I sorta had a one night stand. Not really my thing, though. I’m never going to be doing that again.”

“What? No way,” he shook his head in disbelief, but I shrugged to show him I wasn’t lying. “With who?”

“Eh, I’m not sure. Kinda left before he woke up and didn’t really look back.” It was a lie, of course I knew it had been Jack. I remembered every little detail, even how he accidentally closed the door on my foot while we were making out.

“Oh my god,” Alex laughed. “Stone cold, Rachel, stone cold!”

If only he knew why I left so quickly, then he’d be saying that to somebody else. Jack would be in so much shit. Alex knew me way too well and knew I’d never willingly have a one night stand with anybody, stranger or friend. I nearly wanted to tell him just because Jack would be so dead. But I didn’t need to ruin Alex’s bliss. As soon as their honeymoon was over, I could mention it to him.

“Anyway, I’m going to get some breakfast, okay? Tell Lisa I’m in there if she still wants to see me,” I brushed off his comment and dragged my suitcase behind me as I started to walk away.

“Will do.” Alex gave me one single nod before returning to the front desk.

Somehow, I managed to sneak into the buffet without having to tell the people my room number. Not checking in the night before could have seriously screwed me over this morning. Of course, I could have gotten back at Jack by telling them his room number, making sure he couldn’t get in anymore. But I wasn’t that petty, and there wasn’t even a reason to do so. Plus, the number wasn’t exactly something I knew.

I got myself a bowl of yogurt and added some of the mixed fruit in it, picking up a banana and a spoon in the process. There was more than enough space for me to sit. All I really wanted was to sit by myself in a corner and regret all my life decisions. But then I made eye contact with one of my other best friends who had been in the wedding party.

Rian flashed his teeth and beckoned for me to come over. He was sharing a large table with Zack, the plates at the empty spaces telling me they had had more company before. But I knew I couldn’t just ignore them now. So, I went up to them, struggling to hold my breakfast in one hand and drag my suitcase in the other hand over the carpeted floor.

“Hey, guys,” I tried my best to give yet another believable smile as I put down my bowl and collapsed the handle.

Before I could sit down, Rian rushed up to me and gave me a big hug, also not having seen me at the wedding reception. I hugged him back, still marveled at how much he had grown up. When I first met him, he was this chubby kid that wore shirts that were way too large for him. Now, he had gotten rid of that extra weight, replacing some of it with muscle, and his weird curly locks were gone.

“How are you?” He asked me cheerfully as he broke the hug and pulled out the chair for me to sit on.

Always the gentleman.

“Yeah, pretty good...” I shrugged as he sat opposite of me and Zack.

“No headache?” Zack poked with a wink. “Or did you cradle that glass of water for hours as well?”

I punched him lightly, picking up my spoon so I could start eating. “I’ll have you know I had six more drinks after that water!”

Were they also glasses of water? Yes, they were. Did Zack need to know? What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. This way, if anybody found out about my little mishap with Jack, I could still say I had six drinks after the guys tried to get some life in me.

“Going hard, aren’t ya?” He laughed, letting me eat my bowl of yogurt.

What I wasn’t prepared for, though, was that Jack was also going to get some breakfast. Of course it was stupid of me to think that he would just stay up in his room forever and I would never have to see him again. Lucky for me, though, I spotted him at the buffet beforehand, so I could at least shield myself mentally.

Somehow, he joined our table just as Lisa came bouncing in to talk to me. There was still a permanent grin plastered on her face, the weight of her ring on her finger making her feel beautiful and important. And she was. Who wouldn’t feel that way after their wedding? She was still the one person everybody admired.

Jack sat down across from Zack, the furthest away from me as possible. While it was the only seat left for him without him being excluded from the group, I still was more than grateful that he decided to sit so far away from me. I didn’t need his menacing glare to be worse than it already was. I really was trying to look anywhere but at him, but it was very difficult knowing that he was staring right at me with disgust.

“Holy fuck, Jack,” Rian burst out, remembering something and leaning forward, hitting his hand against the table to get everybody’s attention. “I don’t know who you were with last night, but you were being fucking loud!”

I continued to look down at my yogurt, hoping a blush wouldn’t spread across my cheeks. None of the guys really seemed to take any mind, they were more interested in whatever Jack had been doing. Jack just stared back at them, his eyes flickering between his friends. At least it meant his attention was no longer on me.

“You know,” Lisa interjected, standing at my end of the table, “Rachel had a one night stand as well.”

My silence was short lived. Everybody’s eyes fell on me now, shock stiffening their entire bodies. They all knew that I wasn’t the one to just sleep with a person and never look back. I had always been in some sort of relationship. Jack, however, didn’t flinch. He just continued to stuff a piece of waffle in his mouth, not even bothering to look in my direction.

“Okay, stop judging me.” I raised my hands up in defense, in turn dropping my spoon in the yogurt and swallowing what was in my mouth. “I’m never going to do it again. It was the worst thing I’ve ever done. Literally, it sucked so bad. I was lucky I could sneak out of there; didn’t want to give him a fright since he couldn’t remember a thing. But, hey, I can take it off my bucket list now and hope I’m never faced with it again.”

“Now, why would you say that?” Jack frowned, cocking his head to the side. Of course he had to get all defensive without giving away that both our sexcapedes happened to be the same one.

I shrugged, leaning back in my chair. “Maybe you enjoy them, but I don’t. Not really my problem, just a preference.”

“Okay, well, I’ve got to get going,” Lisa once again interrupted, luckily before this rivalry between me and Jack could blow up to something that didn’t just seem like him feeling I offended his ways. “But I’m glad to know you’re okay.”

“Yeah, I’m so sorry I kind of disappeared on you,” I told her and got up from the chair. I hugged her tightly, swaying the both of us slightly, making this my most heartfelt hug the entire morning. I still couldn’t believe I had let myself be such a party pooper, and I really was sorry for it all. “Have fun on your honeymoon.”

With that, Lisa said goodbye to everybody else, giving us all one last wave, her fingers closing up and down while the palm and thumb stayed in place. At least I still got to congratulate the bride and groom and didn’t have to feel guilty for the rest of my life. They probably didn’t even realize that I didn’t come up to them during the reception because of my own selfish reasons, not because they were so busy and having fun.

I sighed, taking my last bite of watermelon and pushing my bowl forward a couple of inches. “I’ve also gotta get going. But it was really nice to see you guys again.”

“Awe,” Rian pouted while Jack looked at me with wide eyes, “can’t you hang out with us a little longer? We haven’t even been able to catch up yet.”

“I’m sorry, guys, but I’ve got a flight to catch.” I twitched my lips to give a sorry smile and started shuffling my chair back again. “But if you ever pass through LA, whether it be on tour or for personal reasons, contact me.”

I did manage to get them to let me leave. Zack and Rian both gave me very nice goodbyes while Jack just looked around in panic. I really had to hold back my eye roll until I walked away. It wouldn’t be Jack if he hadn’t forgotten that we both lived in LA, actually quite close to each other. There was quite a large chance that we could run in. And now he suddenly realized his plan of fucking me and leaving me alone wasn’t going to work.

I waited around in the lobby, feeling weird that I could just walk away without checking out and paying. All I needed to do was order an Uber, wait a little longer, and then I’d be off. Soon, the whole memory of last night would be very distant and it wouldn’t matter anymore.

“Rach, wait!” Jack came jogging up to me from the food hall, his own phone in his hands. There was no way he had already finished his breakfast at the rate he had been picking at that waffle. He must have ran out after me.

“What?” I exhaled, waiting for my phone to connect since it had died but had received a second life from my power-bank.

“I, umm…” he breathed heavily, scanning my face with his eyes. “You, umm, you never gave me any Advil.”

“Excuse me?” I scoffed. Did he really think I now owed him more than just my body? He was a fucking asshole.

“No, no,” he shook his head, going to grab my arms but deciding better of it, “you promised to have Advil and sparkling water for me, remember?”

I frowned. Yes, I could remember joking that I’d have it ready for him in the morning after our first kiss. But what did it matter now? It was an empty promise, just like that kiss had been. Was he trying to prove that he could actually remember last night? But then why would he tell everybody he couldn’t even remember coming back to his hotel room? There was something really screwed up about him.

“Seems like things don’t always go as planned,” I shrugged, pleased to see my phone had service again and I could get that Uber to save me from this situation.

“Rach, no, please,” he begged, his pleading eyes looking at the screen of my phone as I went to the app.

“What do you want from me?” I asked, fed up with him, as I turned off my phone so we could finish this conversation. It wasn’t like I wanted to talk to him, but the rage in me was only going to ruin my day even further, I had to let it out. “Are you now trying to tell me that you can remember last night but are an asshole who acts like nothing happened? I told you I was not up for a one night stand, not ever, but you manipulated me. You saw that thong and just went for it.”

“No, that wasn’t-- I-- Rach… You were saying how insecure you were. I couldn’t just--”

“So you took advantage of me?” I gasped, shaking my head at him and unlocking my phone once again. “You knew I wasn’t in the right mind to say no to anything. Getting with insecure girls is easy, isn’t it?”

“No!” he continued to deny, taking my phone out of my hands and stuffing it in his back pocket, knowing I wouldn’t reach in to grab it. “When I told you I had a crush on you in high school, I wasn’t kidding. I just never had the guts to pursue it because I thought you were way out of my league. You dated all the jocks and Alex, apparently. I didn’t have any chance. I forgot about it. But I felt horrible knowing you were so insecure about relationships. It made me wonder if I could maybe fix that and be that guy who didn’t just want to use you as a one night stand. But I panicked and Zack was the first person I saw. So, yeah, I may have been a bit over my head. Actually, I’m sure of it. I would have never kissed you if I didn’t have a little liquid courage. So, I don’t know where I went wrong, but I really didn’t intend for it to come over like this.”

As moving as his speech was, pulling at my heartstrings, I still couldn’t just forgive him like that.

“You just acted like you didn’t know what happened. You spoke about it like some routine. And now you’re trying to tell me it meant more to you? Do you hear how hard that sounds to believe?” I crossed my arms and held my hand out to get my phone back.

“But, Rach, you’re the one that disappeared. You walked out on me. How do you think that made me feel?” He shook his head, refusing to give my phone back.

“Because you told Alex and Lisa that you hadn’t seen me and described the events like it was just another morning for you!” I wailed, just wanting to get my phone back so I could leave. How people around us weren’t looking at us strangely, I don’t know. But I was done with it.

“What, did you want me to tell them that we slept together?” He finally gave my phone back, harshly pushing it in my hand, causing me to immediately order that Uber without hesitation this time. “Cause I wasn’t just going to do that without knowing how you felt about it. What if you didn’t want anybody to know? What if I acted all happy about what happened just to find out you couldn’t care less? I didn’t need them to know I got my heart broken on their wedding night.”

“Then why are you coming with this now? Why not earlier?” I sighed. I was starting to feel for him. I also wouldn’t have wanted to boast about it, just to find out Jack couldn’t remember a thing. But still, it wasn’t okay. “We’ve been friends for over ten years, nearly fifteen, and you never thought to say anything? Hell, if you said something this morning when we woke up, it would have been enough for me.”

“Then what are we fighting about? Miscommunication? Cause that is a shitty thing to fight about if we both want the same thing out of this.”

I froze. There was no good come back to that. Jack was right. Here we were, fighting with each other because we were both upset about the same thing. We both thought the other didn’t care, but wanted them to. We wanted it so bad that we were blaming each other instead of noticing that we also didn’t do anything ourselves.

Jack could have told me all of this years ago, and it wouldn’t have done anything. Maybe it would have compromised our friendship, because I hadn’t ever thought about him like this. Last night, though, I couldn’t help but see him in a new light. Jack unearthed his feelings that he had managed to hide in high school, and I didn’t need to look for a stranger that would understand me and treat me right, I already had that person in front of me. It was a lot more simple that we made it out to seem.

Jack must have noticed my silence. Just like the night before, he sneaked his right hand up to cup my left cheek. He lightly stroked my skin with his thumb, waiting for me to push him away. But I couldn’t. I was awaiting him, looking right into his eyes and hoping it was enough of an apology. He tried to send the same message back to me, eventually causing our lips to be pressed up against each other again. His scruff felt the same way as the night before, but he smelled way better. There was no overabundance of cologne and sweat, it was just soap and deodorant. It calmed my nerves.

This time, we were broken apart by my phone buzzing. Jack sighed as I pulled away and took out my phone, disappointed to see that it was my Uber driver telling me he was right outside. I had hoped it would have been my savior, but now it was just the end before we reached the happy ending.

“Text me when you’re back in LA, alright?” I asked him after texting the driver that I’d be out in a minute.

“Okay,” he nodded, glancing out the window and at the black car that was waiting for me, before giving me a sad look.

I grabbed his chin with one hand, my thumb on the left side of his face and my fingers on the other side. I carefully tilted his head down and kissed him briefly before taking hold of my suitcase’s handle and walking out of the hotel to go back home.
♠ ♠ ♠
This can possibly turn into a two-part story. I'm all up for it, especially since it ended with such an open ending.

Anyway, I only worked on this for two days (impressive since it's just over 9000 words long). I had a dream that made no sense whatsoever based on a wedding. I was so frustrated that my dream made no sense, so I turned it into something that is realistically possible. And that's how this happened. The only reason it's based on Jack is because the person in my dream reminded me of him (unsure if it was actually him, though).

Also, sorry if the entire description was a little misleading. It sounds like the main character is getting married to somebody she isn't sure about xD That was the whole point, at least as an opener for the story. It just sounded like a good description to me as well.

Hope you guys did enjoy this, though. I needed a small break from my other stories. I was starting to get writer's block again while everything that happens in the far future was distracting me. Hopefully, I'll get back to them soon (even though I've been on a roll the past week).